World’s Top 10 Major Rivers at Risk of dying

A trip on the Nile or a dip in the Ganges could both be at risk of being a thing of the past, according to data revealed in a report launched today by WWF.

The report “World’s top 10 rivers at risk” lists the top 10 major rivers in the world that are at risk of drying out and hereby threatening not only the livelihoods of people, but also the existence of many animal species.

The top 10 rivers according to WWF are:

• Salween (Asia) due to water infrastructure (dams)
• Danube (Europe) due to water infrastructure (navigation)
• La Plata (South America) due to water infrastructure (dams and navigation)
• Rio Grande (USA) due to water over-extraction
• Ganges (Asia) due to water over-extraction
• Indus (Asia) due to climate change
• Nile (Africa) due to climate change
• Murray-Darling (Australia) due to invasive species
• Mekong (Asia) due to over-fishing
• Yangtze (Asia) due to pollution.

While it is very easy for the responsible traveller to help reduce some of the threats such as climate change, other threats such as damming can seem rather more difficult to address for a traveller.

But being aware is a major step towards becoming a responsible traveller, and is the only way you can make informed decisions while visiting a country, be it a decision against a river cruise on the Yangtze or a decision not to eat a particular type of fish in Cambodia.

The “World’s top 10 rivers at risk” report is packed with data and is a must read in my opinion, if you want to learn more about the water scarcity risks, we are facing. You can download the report from the WWF website.

The report was released only two days before the annual World Water Day on 22 March, which this year will be held under the appropriate theme “Coping with Water Scarcity”. More than 150 events are planned worldwide for World Water Day. You can find a list of all events on the official World Water Day 2007 website.

Responsible Traveller series

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